GCSE 2018 (7) [wine][wine][wine][wine]

[mmzz]

A new thread to take us through the exams
Link to old thread

oddsocks is it raining where you are? I suffer from very low blood pressure and today I would've slept all day if I'd been allowed. When the weather changes like this it's like every ounce of energy is taken out of me. Maybe your DD is similar (re low blood pressure, very common among teenage girls) and combined with GCSE tiredness....wouldn't be surprising then.

DS has plans to create notes from the first day and revise as he goes along for A level (I'll believe it when I see it)

Ha, my dd has said the same, so she doesn't have to cram at the end. I'll give her till Christmas till the novelty wears off

Sounds as if she's exhausted Oddsocks , can't wait for these exams to be over, they are so mentally/physically draining.

brainmelt just started to rain, never heard that about blood pressure, will keep an eye on her

pickwick roll on end of exams

Nobody is to tell my daughter that you don't have to learn (many) quotes for IGCSE English. The reformed GCSE is completely closed book and she can practically recite Lord of the Flies from memory. And a whole series of poems that even I struggle to understand.

I'm feeling like it's some sort of retribution for the fact that I never even finished reading LOTF when I "studied" it at the same age. Horrible book.

Thank you Kingscote for asking those lovely cricket lads - super helpful. I will check that dd knows where in Macbeth to find salient quotes and, just in case the extract question for 'A Secret River' is a stinker, I'll make sure that she is prepared to answer a generic theme question as a back up. Thanks brainmelt and everyone else who chipped in - its good to be able to discuss things on this thread. I am feeling very fondly disposed toward all of you (could be the wine I am drinking )

Oddsocks - if I were you I would be trying to wake your dd up since she might not sleep properly tonight. However I don't think its entirely unexpected that she is tired enough to sleep during the afternoon - stress and mental tiredness can be as energy sapping as physical activity.

Korma I agree - I'm surprised there's so much difference! Still, it doesn't matter either way as long as you know what's needed in your exam! Thanks Kingscote and cricket team for explaining. Also now I feel I need to read Secret River!
Lord of the Flies is pretty grim - DH enjoyed it at O level, though!

Korma - it’s closed book for prose but they are given the poems. And v dyslexic DS will struggle to learn many quotes for the prose and it was a huge effort to read the book once - but then they are all different and he is just aiming for a pass. The only issue with the advice on these threads (helpful and lovely that they are) is the huge difference between what you need to do for a pass and what a grade 4 answer looks like and what you need to do for a 9 and what a grade 9 answer looks like. All the english advice given earlier is aimed at getting
people where they need to be but we all recognise the ideal would of course to learn so much more !!

oratory English language my dgds biggest worry she seems to have a 'thing' about it. She has the ability but lacks any confidence in the subject. Although all other subjects are expected to be 7-9 we would settle for a 5/6 in English language because she wants to stay at 6th form at school she attends. She has 2 other offers but wants to stay on.
Her recent mocks were a vast improvement so we are hopeful. Fingers and toes crossed but we don't mention English unless she does to avoid stress.

What does she need to stay on sost

Sounds like she ll do fine

Oratory DD thinks she gets one poem printed on the paper, but has to make explicit reference to other poems in the anthology, from memory. Is that not correct? She's doing AQA. (Point taken about how it depends what grade you are aiming at, but she's definitely aiming high).

Ah sorry I thought you said IGCSE. DS is doing edexcel igcse. All the boards all seem to be slightly different in their approach

Did is doing Edexcel. She, like AQA, gets 1 poem printed but has to compare it to another from the anthology. I’m hoping for I Wanna Be Yours as a comparison as the whole family can recite that one!

Just to confirm that the cricket team’s advice to hmc is for Cambridge IGCSE and nothing else!!!!!

If anyone wants to see last year’s AQA literature papers they are freely available now on the AQA website with the mark scheme. The basic format of the papers is always the same. The examiners’ reports are there too.

Does anyone know where to get a list of Judaism vocabulary to memorise for Edexcel RS?

Phew found you all!

All kicks off tomorrow for DS with AQA CS, he's planning on an easy day today just a couple of hours, so he's mentally fresh for tomorrow.

All this talk of English does make me nervous, really couldn't say how DS will do in those I think so much will depend on the questions more than any other subject.

We did a dry run of equipment yesterday so if anything was missing I still had time to get it rather than a mad panic on the morning of the exam.

Hiding I see your DD will be doing CS, I wish her all the very best she is a true

Edexcel IGCSE is the first one in new format but there are specimen papers on line with exemplar answers available

Following on from DD sleeping yesterday afternoon, she opened up that friendships (again) are causing her to have sleepless nights and feel depressed. She is very quiet and has a small friendship circle and her words "the leftovers that no one else wants", this friendship circle will change come 6th form as some are leaving to go to a different 6th form. However another girl from another secondary school that DD knows from primary school is likely to come back. She is extroverted and DD is beside herself that she will "take her friends away".

DH (who I had an earlier argument with) made the situation worse by saying to DD that life is like that and we will always encounter people that we get on with more than others. Her response was that we may as well end her life now if things aren't going to improve. As you would expect, resulted in more tears.

Spoke to DD about how whether 6th form is what she wants and maybe a fresh start somewhere else could be alternative, but she wants to stay in familiar surroundings.

I feel alone with all this, part of the argument between DH and I was that I "bend his ear" about coping with DD. Sorry but I need to vent somewhere (other than here!) and he is my DH and her DF. Essentially he is washed his hands of it all and leaving me to cope, I know his DF has died recently but he was like this before his death.

Oh Oddsocks that sounds tough. It can feel very lonely when you are carrying other people's emotional burdens as well as your own. Is there anyone else you and/or DD trust to can talk to in real life, so you have someone other than DH to share is all with? I have a DH who is supportive in many ways, but emotional upset is immensely stressful for him (probable ASD) and I have found that I need friends to plug that gap from time to time.

DD1 is also facing the prospect of two of her little group of friends going to different sixth forms and I suspect next year is going to be tough.

Oddsocks for you

You really need to quell your DD's anxieties so she can concentrate on what really matters now which is her exams (easier said than done I know)
1 - New girl my not get into 6th form
2 - New girl would have changed a lot since primary, who knows what she is like now.
3 - also if new girl is still very extrovert and your DD and friends are the opposite would she really be trying to get in with them, I think like attract like I'm sure she will be trying to make friends with the other extroverts!
4 - Try to convey to your DD that worrying over something that she has no control over is a waste of headspce and however, she thinks things will pan out you can guarantee it will be completely different
5 - finally there will be other new people joining her 6th form who's to say they won't become your DD's new best friends

Oddsocks really sorry to hear that your DD is so down and worried about friendships. The school environment can be so hard for quieter types (my DD was one) and I really sympathise with you and her. I suspect your DH is frustrated that he can't 'fix' it and so finds it hard to discuss the situation as there is nothing he can do to make it better. My DH can be the same. It's almost like defensiveness because they feel they should have 'the answer' and they don't.

I think things do shift in sixth form. New pupils come in/others leave and that can change the dynamics, and new friendships are formed between those taking the same subjects.

School is about the only place where people are judged/judge themselves on their 'popularity'. In the real world we have our good friends (some people have loads, others are happier with a very few close friends) and don't really compare ourselves to others. And there's no pressure to hang out with people every break/lunchtime! Or be aware of how many parties etc we have or haven't been invited to.

That doesn't help your DD now of course. But the situation won't go on for ever and hopefully sixth form will bring positive changes. for you and her.

Oddsocks - Friendships are so tough and I remember when DD was in Yr9 the school inviting all parents in about the GCSE years and we were informed that Yr11 is probably the worst year and things calm down in 6th form when the girls mature and develop friendships within their given subjects because that becomes the common ground.

I think there are a few DM's on here like me whose DD's have had issues and I've found that listening to your DD's woes at least means they are not keeping their worries in. Encourage your DD not to anticipate situations when they may not happen - it's not worth the worry. It is important that your DD tries to focus on exams although I know this will be extremely difficult.

In terms of your DH, DD's DF is exactly the same - he dismisses everything because most men don't have the same emotional involvement...its just the way they are.

Did all the things you suggested last night Bluebelle, to no avail

Cherry and Teen thanks for the advice about DH, I can’t bring myself to talk to him yet, it hurts too much, I’m so upset that he is leaving me to cope with it all..

Hopefully DD will feel a bit better now she has off loaded to me Teen, she wants to buy a lavender plant for her bedroom today so hopefully get a bit more conversation in the car